The New Old Age

Arguments, verbal abuse and aggression are not unusual in elder care settings. Better staffing and training can ease the tensions, experts say.

Medicare Advantage plans say it reduces waste and inappropriate care. Critics say it often restricts coverage unnecessarily.

Trained negotiators can help families struggling with vexing elder-care issues.

Homeownership is not the boon to older Americans that it once was.

The pandemic played a role in increased consumption, but alcohol use among people 65 and older was climbing even before 2020.

Federal law requires states to seek reimbursement from the assets, usually homes, of people who died after receiving benefits for long-term care.

New criteria could lead to a diagnosis on the basis of a simple blood test, even in the absence of obvious symptoms.

A society in which members of different generations do not interact “is a dangerous experiment,” said one researcher.

The move to a long-term care facility is often difficult but necessary for frail patients. For their partners, it can mean a new set of challenges.

Coronary artery bypass grafting, the most common cardiac procedure in the United States, was studied mostly in men. Women are paying the price.

Americans in the lower middle class are losing ground financially, researchers have found.

Winston, an older silverback, is getting enviable medical treatment. Now his keepers must confront an issue that vexes doctors and older humans, too: How much intervention is too much?

The virus sends up to 160,000 people over 65 to hospitals every year. But just 15 percent have gotten the newly available shots.

Some seniors prefer age-restricted communities, while others want intergenerational living. There is little research to show which option is healthier.

Mentoring programs bring together those just starting to care for family members with dementia and those who have been coping for some time.

Over-the-counter devices have been available for a year now. New research suggests they may have unexpected benefits.

Benefits extended earlier in the coronavirus pandemic have been rolled back. But many older Americans are not taking advantage of the aid still available.

The plaintiffs want the state to drop its residency requirement. Oregon and Vermont have already done so.

Older people are less likely to be diagnosed but more likely to experience certain kinds of illnesses, research suggests.

A series of hurdles prevented the facilities from shielding older people, despite the best efforts of staff. Experts are calling for reforms before the next virus arrives.

As climate change sends summer temperatures soaring, older people are increasingly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses in places like Phoenix.

Life expectancy increasingly figures into calculations about whether screenings and treatments are appropriate. Here’s how to find out yours.

Many aging baby boomers have long histories with drugs, cannabis and alcohol. “The field wasn’t ready for that,” said one expert.

Nearly three-quarters of hospice organizations are now for-profit. Complaints of fraud and profiteering are growing.

Senior move managers may spend weeks or months helping seniors and their families sort through belongings, pack and move into a new home.

Most have low-risk cancers and rarely benefit from treatment, a new study finds. Actively monitoring the condition is often the best choice.

The people at the dog park, the bank teller, the regular waiter — these casual relationships may be “weak ties,” but they’re also a key to well-being.

Despite solid financial track records, many older Americans have a hard time refinancing because of their mortality risks and lower retirement incomes.

Following even basic screenings and operations, patients often must arrange for someone to deliver them home. For older people, it can be a tall order.

Most older cancer patients received invasive care in the last month of their lives, a new study finds. That may not be what they wanted.

Anxiety disorders are common among seniors, but an influential panel seems likely to recommend against routine screening. Some experts disagree.

Seniors are increasingly left to protect themselves as the rest of the country abandons precautions: “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others.”

“Granny flats” are popping up in backyards across the country, affording Americans a new housing option. Some communities are not happy about it.

Reforms embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act will bring savings to seniors this year. Already some lawmakers are aiming to repeal the changes.

Women over 65 are being screened for cervical cancer in diminishing numbers. But some are reluctant to give up the tests.

Nearly one million Americans have no immediate family members to provide assistance if needed. The number is expected to grow.

Hospital-at-home care is an increasingly common option, and it is often a safer one for older adults. But the future of the approach depends on federal action.

It’s annual enrollment season once again. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of the two approaches to health insurance.

Americans over 65 remain the demographic most likely to have received the original series of vaccinations. But fewer are getting the follow-up shots, surveys indicate.

Over-the-counter hearing aids are coming at long last. But lower prices and greater accessibility may take time to materialize.

In the blizzard of paperwork needed to get into a nursing home or assisted living, some residents unwittingly surrender the right to a day in court.

Many employees reduce their hours or stop working to help ailing family members. But it may be years before they fully return to the work force, studies indicate.

Rituals like graduations and weddings are few and far between for older adults. Some are finding ways to honor their momentous occasions.

Studies found that centers provided incomplete or unbalanced information, which could lead to unnecessary screenings and health complications in older adults.

As experimental drugs prove ineffective against increasing dementia cases in the U.S., researchers argue that improving eyesight can have an effect.

Research shows that debt has risen among older people, and those who owe are more likely to have multiple diagnosed illnesses.

Millions of Americans take aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. Now, doctors are advising against it — especially for people over 70.

A new training tool helps to assess whether some seniors can make informed choices about their own care and well-being.

Through more than three decades of research, the Yale psychologist Becca Levy has demonstrated that age discrimination can take years off one’s life.

Two neurologists argue that calling T.I.A.s what they are — minor strokes — could prompt patients to seek the help they need more quickly.

Health care researchers argue that hospice facilities could better serve some terminal patients, and ease the burden on exhausted loved ones.

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, funded by Medicare and Medicaid, has quietly succeeded in enabling some older Americans to age in place.

Three recent developments — incremental and undramatic but encouraging — are likely to improve the lives and health of seniors.

Health experts are concerned that the pandemic, in upending daily routines, has reduced mobility and physical conditioning in older adults.

Challenging a policy that limited survivor’s benefits to married couples, even though some couples were legally barred from marriage, took years.

With Covid surging again and vaccine fatigue rising, vaccination rates for influenza are troublingly low, especially among older Americans.

In a troubling picture, American women are looking at a rockier road to secure retirement than their male counterparts.

Medicare has extended coverage of remote health care. While telehealth removed barriers to care for many during the pandemic, some say there is more to be done.

The federal government recently lifted most visitation restrictions at nursing homes. But concerns linger that a full reopening could leave residents vulnerable to another coronavirus surge.

Complex restrictions are preventing patients from accessing medical aid in dying, even in states where it is allowed. New legal and legislative efforts are pushing to change that.

Most Medicare beneficiaries don’t compare plans during open enrollment season, and may be paying more, or accepting more restrictions, than they should.

“It causes huge distress to tell a family, ‘We can’t serve you,’” said one state hospice organization director.

Researchers have been studying how much care American adults will require as they age, and for how long.

The older cohort had a head start on getting immunized against Covid-19, but too many remain unprotected, experts say.

The pathologies underlying brain decline can begin years before symptoms emerge. Can everyday behavior provide warning?

With infections increasing once more, and hospitalization rising among older adults, health experts offer a timely warning: a coronavirus infection can look different in older patients.

Staffing shortages have long plagued the home care industry. But the pandemic has intensified the problem.

The approval of Aduhelm to treat Alzheimer’s disease has raised hope among older adults, but many doctors wonder if it is warranted.

Older adults often take more medications than they need, or than is safe. Increasingly, geriatric experts and their patients are exploring the benefits of “deprescribing.”

Early studies reveal the toll that lockdowns, isolation and stress have taken on those who care for older Americans.

Time-limited trials offer I.C.U. patients and their families a sense of empowerment in the face of low odds.

Railings, grab bars, shower chairs and other inexpensive devices can make it easier to continue living at home, but not enough older people acquire them.

Meal programs for older adults have long been underfunded. The new economic recovery plan will help.

The number of older adults who use cannabis is on the rise, and some health experts are concerned.

As legal experts and ethicists debate, some companies aren’t waiting.

A new study indicates that the condition might be less of a worry than once believed.

Residents and workers at long-term-care facilities are high-priority candidates for the Covid-19 vaccines. But many are still waiting.

More Americans are writing end-of-life instructions as the pandemic renders such decisions less abstract. But are medical providers listening?

An at-home test for colon cancer is as reliable as the traditional screening, health experts say, and more agreeable.

Even as older adults await the coronavirus vaccine, many are skipping the standard ones. That’s not wise, health experts say.

The vital medical devices could be inexpensive and available over the counter. But efforts have stalled under the F.D.A.

The incoming administration aims to tackle child care, elder care, preschool and more in one ambitious aid program.

A new Medicare program aims to increase the proportion of patients using home dialysis and receiving transplants.

Studies have shown that older people do as well in psychotherapy as younger ones. But finding and affording therapy can prove difficult.

Yes, you can help a cognitively impaired person participate in the election. But heed these two guidelines.

As seniors find themselves cut off from loved ones during the pandemic, some are turning to automated animals for company.

Older adults are particularly vulnerable to misinformation on social media. But resources have emerged to help them learn to discern true from false.

Workplaces have grown steadily less friendly to older employees, and the pandemic has pushed more of these workers from the labor market.

Struck hard by the pandemic, long-term and assisted living facilities shut their doors to outsiders. Many still have not reopened.

If medical rationing becomes necessary, some older adults are prepared to step aside. But many have the opposite concern: that they will be arbitrarily sent to the rear of the line.

Early in the pandemic, older adults were told to stay at home. With different states reopening or re-closing, weighing the risks is more complicated.

The coronavirus disproportionately affects seniors, but they may not be included in important clinical trials for vaccines and treatments.

More than a third of America’s Covid-19 deaths can be traced back to these facilities. Experts suggest several ways to make them safer.

The pandemic pushed Medicare to make telemedicine more financially attractive. Now doctors, patients and regulators will see if they want to stick with it.

The coronavirus pandemic could sharpen the health risks of loneliness. But there are ways to connect.

More con artists are finding their marks on all manner of social media platforms, knowing that the payoff from older victims can be big.

For many women, regular breast cancer screening is standard medical protocol. But for older women, should it be?

A participant might commit months or years to a drug trial, only to see it vanish overnight.

Court decisions in California may shed light on how large chains make staffing decisions.

When very old patients suffer cardiac arrest, doctors usually try to revive them — even if they were already near death.